Brotherly Love
by DBZLover4Ever
Summary: "Goten, I'm going to have to ask you to put that down." Goten lowered the paper and said, "And what if I don't?" Gohan slowly removed his glasses and placed both palms on the desk to stand up. He raised an arm and pointed his palm at his brother's chest. "Then I'm not liable for any injuries you sustain when I try to get it back."


**DISCLAIMER: **Who is to say whether I own DBZ or not. I'll tell you that I don't think I do but, Que sé yo?

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**Brotherly Love**

"I can't believe its my first day off I'm stuck at home doing work," Gohan grumbled looking up at the impossibly large stack of papers that decorated the table.

"Well, you _are_ the crazy teacher that assigned a test on the first day of school. The only person you can blame is yourself," his not-so-sympathizing wife, Videl, replied. She held their daughter, Pan, in one arm and stood looking over his shoulder.

"It was summer vacation," Gohan defended. "I had to make sure all the students' brains didn't turned to mush during the break."

"And how's that going for you?"

Gohan put down his pen and sighed. "Not good. These students have forgotten everything they should have learned in school, including basic grammar rules. It's a wonder they passed the first grade."

Videl frowned and replied, "All I'm going to say is cut them some slack and try to remember what life was like back then. I mean, it _was_ the first day of school." Pan giggled as if in affirmation.

Gohan glared up at them both. "Yeah, well you can only say that because you're not stuck here doing all this grading. You can actually get out of this house."

"Like I said," Videl retorted. "Whose fault is that?" Gohan put his face in his hands and didn't say anything more. "Okay, Gohan, I'm leaving. I will be back after Pan's play date with Bra is over. Call me if you need anything, and put away the dishes if you have time." Her eyes darted to the pile of dishes by the sink.

Videl bent down and brought Pan to kiss Gohan's cheek and after gave her husband a quick peck. She then turned around and walked with Pan out the door.

"Bye, daddy," Pan said on the way out, waving over Videl's shoulder.

Gohan watched his wife and daughter leave, his eyes lingering on the sway of his wife's hips. He gave a sigh and turned back to his work.

He didn't get much headway for the first few minutes, but when he was about a quarter through the pile he got into a decent rhythm. And, as fate would have it, that was the moment his little brother decided to pay him a visit.

Gohan was alerted of Goten's presence by a loud _crash_ that came from the kitchen. Several smaller crashes followed the initial cringe-worthy sound. When the torture was over, he spun around just in time to hear Goten curse loudly and see half of the dishes that were next to the sink lying in pieces on the ground around Goten's body.

Typically, Gohan would use this as the perfect excuse to kill his brother (he'd never liked the kid much), but he knew that would just invoke more wrath from his wife when she finally returned home (and later his mother). He decided to be the bigger person in this instance and settled with looking at his brother disapprovingly over the frames of his glasses.

"You have five seconds to explain," he said in a cold voice.

Goten gulped and stood up. He shied away from Gohan's glare and opened his mouth. "Um . . . well, you see . . ." Goten looked down at his feet and then back to Gohan.

"Four . . . three . . ." Gohan continued.

"Dad was teaching me instant transmission!" Goten yelled finally. "I was aiming for Trunks. Obviously it failed, unless he's hiding in your pantry or something." He let out a nervous laugh and looked tentatively at his brother, waiting for his reaction.

Gohan removed his glasses and rubbed his temples. "No, Trunks is not here." Gohan paused. "You say you were training with Dad. Where's mom? I might just have to put you in her custody."

Goten paled. "Well, she's not really home right now, but you wouldn't do that, would you?"

"I used to think that my brother wouldn't come and break all my dishes, but that happened, didn't it?" Gohan said in an annoyed tone.

"Aw, come on! We're brothers!" Goten complained loudly.

Gohan rolled his eyes and replied, "Fine, I won't tell Mom. But you owe me, and don't come barging in here again, using instant transmission or not."

"Deal." Goten answered. He looked at the mess on the floor, and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face. "I'll clean this up if you tell me where to find a broom and dustpan."

Gohan gestured behind Goten. "It's in the pantry, sitting in the corner." Goten turned around and followed his brother's directions while thinking how much their home had changed since his last visit.

He put his hand on the doorknob and opened the pantry, hoping he wouldn't have to search very hard to find the broom. To his surprise he saw Trunks huddled in the corner of the pantry, eating microwave noodles at an incredibly fast pace.

"HA! I _knew_ it!" Goten yelled. Trunks immediately shushed him.

"Do you _want _to blow my cover?" Trunks hissed grabbing Goten's shirt and pulling him into the pantry. "I was quite happy here by myself eating noodles."

"I thought it was weird that I sensed your energy coming from Gohan's house, and even then your ki was so low I thought it was a fluke. But I was _right_! That'll show dad!" Goten said loudly, oblivious to Trunks's comment.

Trunks put his hand over Goten's mouth. "Goten, shut _up_. Obviously I'm here because I don't want to be found. If you ruin this for me I will destroy you."

Trunks removed his hand and Goten said, "Well you're doing a pretty good job ruining it yourself. Work on suppressing your energy a little better, slacker. Besides, what's so bad that you feel the need to hide in my brother's pantry?"

"There is nothing wrong with my ki-suppressing ability!" Trunks snapped. He took a deep, calming breath and continued, "My mother told me this morning that Pan was coming over to play with Bra, and she suggested that I spend some time with the two of them. And then I thought, 'If I value my life I'd better get the heck out of there.' Have you ever played tea party with those two? It's vicious." Trunks shivered.

Goten looked at him strangely and then focused his gaze around in the pantry and said, "That was probably a good call. But how long have you been here? The shelves almost look empty."

"Five hours, thirteen minutes, twenty four seconds and counting. Please, whatever you do, don't tell Gohan! Or my mother for that matter." Trunks's expression formed into one of ultimate pity.

Goten looked at his best friend's face and sighed. "Fine. I need the broom and dustpan, though, before I leave." Trunks reached into his corner and handed the items to Goten.

As he closed the door to leave his friend in the pantry, Goten muttered under his breath, "Manipulative bastard."

"Don't swear in my house, Goten!" His older brother yelled from the kitchen.

Goten threw up his hands in the air. "So he heard that!" Goten continued grumbling as he made his way into the kitchen whose floor was laden with broken dishes.

"And you are finally back," Gohan said, glasses back on his face and patience wearing thin. "Just clean up the dishes quietly like you said you would. I have a lot of work to do, and I would rather do it in silence."

Goten started picking up the dishes and asked, "Why do you have so much work? I thought you just started school a couple days ago."

"So?" Gohan said.

"So . . . it's the first week of school. Unless you're one of those psycho teachers that assign a test the first day of school, you shouldn't have anything to do . . . Wait, don't tell me . . . " Goten's eyes widened as he considered his brother.

Gohan clenched one of his hands and unclenched it. He sat with his back to Goten, so his brother could not read his expression. "I guess I _am _one of those psychotic teachers."

"Seriously?" Goten replied incredulously. He dropped his dustpan and walked over to the stack of papers. "And this is the test you assigned on the first day of school?" He picked one copy up and read it out loud, openly mocking the questions Gohan had made and answers the student had written.

"Goten," Gohan said in a warning voice, "I'm going to have to ask you to put that down."

Goten lowered the paper and said, "And what if I don't?"

The older demi-saiyan slowly removed his glasses and placed both palms on the desk to stand up. He raised an arm and pointed his palm at his brother's chest. "Then I'm not liable for any injuries you sustain when I try to get it back."

Goten's eyes widened, but he didn't let go of the test. He looked at the stack and his eyes narrowed again. "And what if I did this to protect myself?" Goten gathered his energy and released it in an instant, sending a strong wind throughout the house. The wind blew the stack of papers around the kitchen. When all the papers settled into a new spot, the kitchen was completely silent with the two Son boys glaring at one another wrathfully. Gohan's hand was still directed at his brother's chest.

Goten broke the stare down and looked around. In one of the most daring and stupid moves he could have made, he dropped the paper in his hand and said, "Whoops."

Well, that was the straw that broke the camel's back.

With a shout, Gohan launched himself at his younger brother, ready to snap his brother's head off. Goten, expecting some sort of retaliation, quickly dodged Gohan's outstretched arms and watched as his brother crashed into one of the counters.

Goten watched as his brother picked himself up and wiped the dust off his slacks and tie. "So that's how you want to play?" Gohan asked, studying the state of his dress. "Fine, I won't hold back." He launched himself towards Goten again, and pulled his arm back for a punch. Goten blocked the initial punch and barely managed to divert his brother's follow up kick that would have caught him in the ribs. The kick hit his thigh and sent him into crashing into a wall.

He sprang up quickly and was able to dodge the kick Gohan had aimed at his stomach. They both engaged in a flurry of blows, Goten picking up nicks and scratches, but not suffering any major hits. Their short exchange ended with Gohan sending his brother out one of the kitchen windows with an elbow to the face.

Goten got up more slowly than previously and felt for his brother' ki. He thought exasperatedly that it was hardly fair that even though he had trained almost everyday since his dad had returned, he was still weaker than Gohan who had put his nose in the books for the last eight years.

He eventually found Gohan's ki a few feet away and decided to surprise his brother with a new trick. He put two fingers to his forehead and teleported behind Gohan. At least that was what he was aiming to do, but his inexperience at instant transmission was showing. Instead of teleporting _behind_ Gohan, he landed _above_ his target and crashed into his unsuspecting brother.

Suddenly their fight turned into a wrestling match, as the two rolled and tried to pin the other down while making sure the other didn't pin them first. Goten finally got his brother's arms pinned and stuck his tongue out at his brother. Gohan smirked and rolled backward, launching Goten into the air. He fazed above his brother's flying form and laced his fingers together, nailing Goten in the middle of his back.

"Argh!" Goten yelled in pain, and crashed face first into the ground. Gohan landed beside his brother and knelt next to him.

"A lot has changed in the past few years, baby brother. Glad to know the fact that I can still kick your butt hasn't," Gohan said into his ear.

Goten's eyes opened slowly, but he didn't move his body. A smile gradually made its way on his features. "And I think . . . you still don't realize," Goten said slowly, "Who the . . . real winner was big brother." Goten paused for a second while Gohan considered his words. "Your house is . . . a mess, Videl's going to be home in an hour, and you still have to . . . grade those tests." Goten let out a soft chuckle and rolled onto his back painfully.

Gohan turned around and assessed the damage; there was a huge hole where a window was before, and he knew the inside didn't look any better. "Crap!" He looked back down at Goten and said, "Don't think this is over, Goten." Gohan turned around and sprinted back to his home.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Gohan" Goten said quietly to no one. He gazed at the sky and eventually said, "Right about now would be a good time to end this fic, huh? Before I suffer anymore embarrassment."

"Goten!" Trunks yelled running up to him. "I saw you get destroyed by your brother! Who's the slacker now?"

"I give up," Goten said to the sky before he lost consciousness.

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**A/N: **This story was written in just under 3 hours and it gave me hope that I will finish Alien Patrol soon. I'm out of school on Friday so I will definitely get on Alien Patrol Club within the next week and a half. Thanks for reading! Please review!


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